


The Red Star Never Dies

by orphan_account



Series: The Red Star Never Dies Series [1]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-11-08 15:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20837999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: There is something that lurks within her, but she must keep it inside as best as she can. As revelations come out, the foundations of Kouka’s rule comes to light and begins to shatter the world Yona knows. What is her purpose and how does she fulfill it? A prelude to the series.Completed On: 25 November 2019Currently Editing





	1. The Precious Princess of Kouka

**Author's Note:**

> So uh this is the part where I admit once again that I have no idea what I’m doing—in terms of writing, of course. I’m not the best of writers, but I really wanted to put something out there to contribute to the Akayona fandom, especially with the late manga update (almost looking like borderline hiatus from Kusanagi).

“Princess! Princess Yona!” Saki huffed under her breath. This was ridiculous. The fact that she’d have to spend her days hunting down some spoiled princess who was seventeen nonetheless!

“Have you seen her yet?” Another maid had her blonde hair braided thickly, and that was the only differing feature Saki ever took note of. They were often conveniently paired together whenever the princess had one of her “fits” as the king described it.

“You ladies don’t need to worry about that now.”

“_Aah!_” Both Saki and the blonde-haired maid jump and turn, only to face a boy with a small smile on his face as he carries a tea tray. Saki’s mind runs through something to identify the boy with. What was his name? Min-something?

“Sorry! Did I startle you? Anyway, I wanted to inform you discreetly that you ladies don’t need to worry yourselves with finding the princess anymore. Lord Hak has found Princess Yona and she’s been brought to her chamber. I’ll be looking after her as well, since it seems she’s taken ill again.”

_ Taken ill again, huh_, Saki thought.

* * *

_ Hiryuu… Hiryuu… human? Are you human again? Why must you be this way? You must understand the wasted energy that comes of pursuing faithless humans. Yet you love them so dearly. But not me. Love me. Let me serve you. Look at me and my golden eyes that must be shut off to the world due to— _

“Prin—Yon—”

_ My golden eyes are in so much pain, please, Hiryuu, LOOK AT M— _

“Princess!”

Yona’s eyes flash open, a sob tearing from her throat. Despair runs through her again at the thought of facing those terrifying, golden eyes. But as her vision comes to focus, she notices the shade of blue irises looking back at her.

“H-Hak.” Of course it was just Hak with his long, black hair hanging over his forehead and those blue eyes, ever so calm like water. 

“Hey, Princess,” he murmurs softly. He’s leaning over her on her futon now, his hand on her forehead checking her temperature. “It’s me. Not any of those voices you’re always talking about.”

Those voices. Of course he’d say it like that. “I-I…” she wants to tell him, to let everything come out in the open, but she closes her mouth immediately. Even now her body is on fire, her spine tingling as she tries to claw the feeling of guilt from her mind.

“What’s wrong?” Hak asks her this, as he does every time. And she will only tell him half truths, as she does every time. 

“Nothing. I just had a fit as I always do. I thought I saw Father near me this time, along with Uncle Yu-hon. I was in the hallway and it was just overwhelming. So I got a fit. And some nightmares.”

Hak gives her a sad smile. “And some voices.”

Yona looks to the side, ignoring his gaze. “And the voices, I guess.” She had meant to pin her attention to the bottom of the curtain drape that covered her futon from sight, but tears come to her eyes. This was the second time in one week. And it wasn’t only the fits, the voices were getting worse. “Hak,” she pauses after his name to stop the crack in her voice. “You’re a pretty strong soldier, right?”

She hears a snort. “Yeah, I guess I’m decent.”

“Will you stay with me? Right here? You don’t have to chase away the voices, just stay so that I don’t have to be alone when I hear them anymore.”

She doesn’t hear an answer. As she looks back up to his face she notices his pained expression. Hak cups her face with both of his hands this time as he wipes her tears. “Okay,” he answers.

Yona tries to ignore the clawing inside of her as Hak slips in beside her in her futon. Tries to ignore how large his body is compared to hers, and how close he is to her; tries to ignore the heat she feels near her ear when he whispers _ sweet dreams _to her in the softest tone, and then pulls back as he tries to keep a safe distance between them.

* * *

“She’s getting progressively worse.”

Advisor Kye-sook watches out of the window that looks over the palace gardens. Even now his head hurts and he hasn’t completed half of the tasks he set out to do today.

“Advisor?”

“Yes, Mi-ra?” he sighs.

“What do you plan on doing with her? She can’t continue like this for much longer, especially with the king returning in a matter of weeks.”

Kye-sook clenches his fists. His role was to be useful to the success of the Kouka Kingdom in any way. And it seems that Kouka’s precious princess has taken ill once again—to the surprise of no one—and it is he who is left to deal with the consequences. 

Even now options were running wild through his mind. Poison, an accidental fall, a carriage accident, drowning; these are all completely justifiable reasons to explain a person’s untimely death. However, there would be no doubt that chaos will stir the capital if the princess were to die within months of her father. Too many ill omens and it would be seen as punishment from the heavens, and not in favor of his king.

And besides, Princess Yona was still a descendant of the previous King Ju-nam. Kye-sook couldn’t decide whether or not this would work to the crown’s advantage. While any children she bears during her lifetime will have a right to the throne, if not aligned with the king their existence could result in a disastrous feud. During possibilities like these, Kye-sook often wondered if effective practices should rule out morality. Perhaps the previous practices of killing all of the king’s siblings once he had enough children of his own was better for preventing any future claims to the throne from spreading.

But the future children of Princess Yona wasn’t his concern for now. There was no one who would marry her, looking at the condition she’s currently in. Superstition had taken over Kouka from the past few years and Kye-sook was sure that the princess would be accused of spreading her madness, no matter how out of control her illness was. Assuming that rumors about the princess’s condition would start after the king’s return, perhaps he could take advantage of them to add to the blemish that was the rule of the deceased King Il. 

The advisor thinks before answering. “For now keep her in her precious private palace. Let her select maids and Min-soo deal with her. He’s good at making her teas that ease her sleep at night and keep her calm.”

“Advisor, I wanted to report something that has lead to my suspicion that the situation is getting out of hand.”

“Yes?”

“You see, Princess Yona’s condition isn’t as easy to hide anymore. There is a girl who works with me, Saki. We serve together often. She and some other maids who have been continuously looking after the princess’s chambers and handle her private affairs are taking note of her condition. It’s becoming a hindrance to them and they will no doubt soon start complaining outside of the palace.”

“_Tsk_. Very well. I’ll have a report sent in on the incomes and backgrounds of these women associated with Princess Yona’s personal care and then see what can be done to keep their mouths shut. She’s not causing any physical harm to them, is she?”

“No, Advisor. She doesn’t tend to cause any physical harm when… causing disarray in her chambers but she does cause harm to herself. The other day she tried pulling out her hair. The girl I mentioned before, Saki, wanted to quit as she was sure if any harm came to the princess the maids would be blamed.”

Perhaps killing the princess would be a merciful option. Kye-sook can tell that his distaste is evident on his face, which means this princess is enough to make him forget his rule of keeping an unreadable expression. “I’m impressed that her antics haven’t stirred up the whole castle. It seems keeping the Thunder Beast with her was a better idea than I’d thought. If she keeps this up, we’ll have to start drugging her. Report back to me in three days unless a large commotion bigger than the ones you’ve described to me before occur before then.”

Mi-ra bows before him before silently leaving the room.

Kye-sook goes back to looking outside of the palace window. Although he was able to answer Mi-ra’s concerns, hiding the princess’s condition would not be easy. He would collect more information, but for now he can’t think of any real reason to drug her without consulting the king. But then again, that depended on the princess and her behavior.

* * *

Yona starts her morning with getting ready. Her hair is pinned back—but with a different hairpin than the one she’d gotten for her birthday—and she keeps her attire simple. Yona is aware that the tutors in the main castle are probably beginning to suspect a reasoning behind her consistent absences so she should probably lay low.

As she eats her breakfast, something else she does in her chambers now as well, she is interrupted by Min-soo. Her dear friend smiles as he sees a healthier glow on her face.

“Princess! I’ve brought you some more tea. Would you like me to make you some as you eat?”

“Yes, please, Min-soo,” she answers, smiling. Yes, everything was going well. Just a couple of more days of this and she can bring her proper princess image back. Even her chambers have been cleaned and kept tidy. Although she still cringes when she thinks of the curtains she’d torn down. And remembers the pain that has just gone away from when she’d tried to pull her hair out.

Min-soo serves her tea which she drinks happily. “Is this a new blend?” she asks.

“Yes, Princess. It should help with relaxing your nerves.” Min-soo smiles at her as she continues drinking. It’s hard for her not to drink it in one sip, it tastes so good. She wonders what the sweet taste is, but ignores it. She has her mind on something more important today.

“Thank you, Min-soo, but I have a feeling I won’t be needing this one as much tomorrow.”

Min-soo widens his eyes in surprise. “You’re feeling better already?”

“Only slightly,” Yona admits as she continues sipping. “But if today goes well, then I’ll take it as a good sign.”

It had taken a lot of thinking, but Yona decides to test out a possible solution. It is possible that perhaps these fits happen because Yona doesn’t keep her mind steady. She decides to spend the day in the Hiryuu Shrine. Hopefully the Crimson Dragon God would show his grace on her and possibly send some divine assistance. While Yona herself had never been too superstitious she did now wish that there was at least one oracle in the castle who could be called upon.

Yona finishes drinking her tea and then rises, holding a hand up as the swarm of ladies hold out silks to cover her plain white kimono. The most it had on it was red and gold embroidery work along the border. Now that she was looking at herself more carefully in the mirror she realizes how bare she looks without any heavy clothing and jewelry. Hopefully since she was in her private palace it wouldn’t be a matter of trouble.

“Oh, Min-soo, I’m headed to Hiryuu Shrine for the day. Will you join me?”

Min-soo looks up from the dishes he’s carrying. “Sorry, Princess, but I have to attend to the advisor’s personal matters for today.”

“Ah, okay. Good luck.”

As Yona leaves she decides that keeping Saki and Mi-ra as her companions was a better idea. Although Saki seemed to be openly judgemental about her, Mi-ra was almost always stone faced. Nonetheless they did not gossip as much as her other maids and so she liked keeping them.

Yona notices the fine detail on the pillars as she walks through the halls. There were so many things she didn’t pay attention to before, the construction of her own palace for that matter. Done by her father with utmost care. There were so many things she didn’t mention to her father before he passed away. Things such as how much she liked it when he cooked dishes for her, despite their odd taste.

_ If only I’d thanked Father once_, she thought. _ Then maybe… maybe I wouldn’t have had to see him get murd—_

Yona grips her forehead as she slows her footsteps. _Soo—him—hi—_

Yona stops walking completely. Her head pounds. There was something along with her grief, desperately crawling up inside of her, almost as if her grief was a physical thing. _Hi—Hiryuu! Hiryuu do you hear me I wish so much for— _

“Princess, wait.”

Yona flinches in response. As her eyes focus where she had been looking before, she realizes that there is now a different design on the pillar. Had she continued walking without even knowing it? She was sure that she had stopped walking. The feeling brings an odd sensation in her stomach, and her hand is shaking as she places it there to calm herself. What had she been thinking about again? What had happened?

“Princess…?” When Yona can see clearly enough again, she turns and looks back at Mi-ra. It was in moments like these that Yona felt a little fearful of Mi-ra and her perfectly braided hair with her perfectly set-in-stone expression she wore at all times.

“Y-Yes?”

“If you are summoned by the advisor then you will have to change to make yourself more presentable in public company. Would you like for me to choose the change of clothes for you?”

_I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Mi-ra_. A flare of irritation shoots through her. “Are you implying that I can be summoned by someone other than my father?”

Saki decides to answer in Mi-ra’s stead while looking down at the floor. “N-No, Princess. U-Uh… you can only be summoned by the… by the king.”

As Yona opens her mouth in response, she realizes that the king and her father were no longer the same person. Saki must recognize the change on her face since she chooses to quickly look back down again. Mi-ra as always is unreadable.

Her hopes for a peaceful morning quickly dwindling out, Yona continues her way to Hiryuu Shrine.

* * *

Hak is doing his regular rounds when he hears the maids gossiping.

“I heard that she just throws tantrums and makes the other maids required to serve her clean up whatever mess she leaves for them!”

“All she did back when King Il was alive is mope around and complain in her chambers because she could only spend some time with her father for one day. How sad.”

“Well, I don’t really blame her. She _was_ raised that way. Not all of us are as lucky to be born with a silver spoon in our mouths. I am just glad that she wasn’t the one who got to choose the next ruler of Kouka. Imagine what kind of husband she’d choose. Thankfully we have King Soo-won.” 

Hak tightens his hold on his glaive as he hears the ladies begin to laugh. But after a quick breath, he continues walking. He makes his footsteps obvious as he turns the corner to where the maids are talking.

He sees their flushed and embarrassed faces before stalking past them. What does it matter if he says anything, anyway? From the time he was younger, he’s heard people constantly berate the princess and King Il. Now that King Il has been dead for around three months, the comments on him have become more civil. But the princess… ever since she’s been the one to see King Il die and was attacked her frame of mind has completely shifted.

Hak tries to think of ways to help her. But she’s been more withdrawn from him. No longer laughing, no longer making jokes or becoming angry at him. She simply breaks down and then becomes muddled and confused, talking of features that don’t exist on humans such as golden-slit eyes and colored hair.

He wonders if she truly did see the man that killed her father that night.

* * *

Hiryuu Shrine looks the same as always, the room is large and golden in appearance, with Hiryuu’s resting place in the center. As Yona pushes open the door, she instantly feels a calmness settling over her. The clawing inside of her instantly disappears. Yona tries not to smile since she’s sure Saki and Mi-ra both think she’s crazy enough at this point.

As Yona steps inside, she nods towards Saki, who rolls out a futon in front of Hiryuu’s resting place.

“Um. Princess Yona are you going to sleep here?” The frown is quite visible on Saki’s face.

“Not now,” Yona answers. “But at night, I probably will sleep here to calm my mind.” At this point she doesn’t really care how crazy she sounds, she just needs to keep her peace of mind.

“Princess, is your mind at ease within the shrine?” Mi-ra asks respectfully.

“Yes,” Yona answers honestly. “I am at ease here than I was before.” She smiles towards the shrine. Maybe Father was right about Hiryuu’s power. She had heard of legends of oracles meditating within Hiryuu’s shrine and important rituals being conducted here, but after the banishment of the priests, it seems only the New Year’s dragon celebration was held. She should be able to sleep peacefully tonight instead of having to disturb Hak.

When she had woken up next to Hak after her nap the day before it had been embarrassing to see how close he’d moved to her in the night. His hand was warm on her forearm and she blushed at the simple contact. She had been trying to think of a way to stir Hak without calling too much attention when Saki had come into the room, a disapproving expression coming over her face at the sight of the napping Thunder Beast.

However, if this plan worked out, then she wouldn’t have to be a burden to her father’s memory or Hak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I came up with the worst plot ever. And my actual plot was meant to start with “book two” of this series. Then I realized that having another book and ending it the way I would, will probably bring more questions so I decided to write this one and the “third one”. I have no idea what I’m doing, so when I’m posting a rough draft, it’s a real rough draft. My biggest fear is coming up with something during later chapters and not being able to fix it. This whole book is most likely a disaster but I decided to start writing something about Yona since I guess everyone in the fandom hates Akayona now or something (let us not mention the completely useless ideas mentioned by the HHB btw)?


	2. The Thunder Beast of Kouka

Hak rests his head on the very edge of the bath, sinking in deeper. The water is hot against his skin as he closes his eyes to bask in the soothing heat. His muscles are sore and he’s exhausted. He doesn’t remember the last time he’s been this worked up after training.

Well, he does know why. The princess. The princess and the voices she hears and her fears and her frustration. For the past few months, Hak has been running situations in his mind to explain the princess’s current situation. But he can’t think of anything besides trauma.

Hak leans his head back, trying to remember the past. How can he even think to _ analyze _ what happened? As if it’s some sort of hindrance to his daily activities. Hak wants to forget about all of it but then he remembers the way the princess had acted after waking up next to him yesterday evening. He had been trying to sneak out of her futon as quietly as he could but she’d simply grabbed onto his sleeve and pulled him back with her. The second time he’d woken up, that maid with the light brown hair who always looked like she’d rather die than assist the princess, Saki, had discovered them. He’d quickly shaken her awake and realized that if he’d wanted to sleep that night he’d have to leave. This morning, Min-soo had reported to him that the princess was in Hiryuu Shrine.

If it's gotten to that point, then he’ll have to think of something. The first time he’d ever felt as if all hope were lost was when he’d found the princess with her eyes wide in the middle of the courtyard of all places. When the guards who’d been running after her explained to Hak what had happened, he’d tried shaking her to confirm whether or not it was true. But he’d never gotten a response from her. She’d stayed as still as an unliving object. He’d noticed the mess that was her hair, her pale face, and the blood on her dress. The dress King Il had gotten tailored for her to wear on the celebration of her sixteenth birthday, the year that marked the beginning of adulthood. And King Il’s blood stained that very dress.

Even amidst all the chaos, with the screaming and the fire in King Il’s chambers, Princess Yona was the only calm in the storm. But nothing had ever felt so wrong in Hak’s entire life. Min-soo had taken her to her chambers, called the maids to remove the blood from her clothes and bathe her. And the whole time Hak knew he should be outside, giving orders, trying to find some stability for the soldiers. But he’d stayed in her chambers trying to understand how it was possible for the princess’s birthday and King Il’s death to happen on the same day.

Hak had never been superstitious, but now he wishes that signs from the heavens existed to foretell these events. The day had started so normally. Min-soo running around trying to assist King Il in Princess Yona’s birthday preparations along with getting her out of bed. The maids gossiping and trying to make the princess look her best. Princess Yona with her long, red, untamed hair, trying to see what hairstyle would make her look regal even though Hak admired the way her hair practically glowed in the sunlight. In all of this, Hak had played the royal guard. The witness of peaceful events, the shadow of his best friend and princess, Yona. When it had gotten to be a bit much for him, Hak had taken his refuge with Soo-won, his other best friend, his other half in what was protecting Kouka and moving it forward.

So how did a day that started so well, an afternoon and a celebration that went so well, and the goddamn after party that went more than well become so horrid? He’d been expecting to sleep after talking to Min-soo about securing Soo-won on the throne as Yona’s husband. Not this hell for the princess.

The morning after her birthday when she’d woken was terrible. Not because she’d woken up from what could’ve been the first sign of her instability, but because she woke up as if everything was normal. Maybe Princess Yona had sensed the lack of will in Hak’s demeanor, Min-soo’s attempts at holding back tears, or the silent and hawk-eyed gaze of the maids. Whatever it was, her smile quickly died down when she’d noticed that her food had been brought to her chambers, and that this was not the morning of her sixteenth birthday, as it had already passed. Hak should’ve seen how far down the pampered princess would go. Even when she’d thrown her food on the ground, had begged the maids to tell her if this was some form of punishment from King Il, Hak simply willed that her grief would eventually lessen.

From that moment on lead to a chain of events of Yona’s destructive anger and within a week, her mumbling of visions. She’d been in so much shock at first that Hak didn’t think she’d ever come back to some form of semblance. For the past few weeks she’d been in a stable state. The mention or memory of King Il’s death didn’t trigger anything. But Hak still hadn’t found the courage to ask her what she’d witnessed that night.

He knows she had probably forgotten, which is why she was as calm as she regularly was. But he can’t help it. Maybe he should—

“Uh, General Hak?”

Hak turns around quickly, only to sink back into the water as he notices a maid’s flushed face. “I apologize, General!” she continues, bowing down before him and keeping her position. “I-I just wanted to ask whether or not you will be spending more time here. The five generals meeting has been cancelled so I was told to inform you of that.”

Damn, he’d been in here for that long? 

Hak shakes his head. “It’s okay. You do not need to apologize to me. Is there a reason why it’s been cancelled?”

“No, General, sorry. I was simply given instructions to inform you of the cancellation.”

Hak nods. “Alright, thank you.”

As the maid gets out of there as quickly as she can, Hak rises out of the large bath setup for the nobles of the castle. Once again he’d been too lost in his thoughts to keep track of time.

* * *

Already Hak has doubts in his mind as he approaches Hiryuu Shrine. He doesn’t really feel any “aura” or whatever he’s guessing the princess was claiming to have felt. As he approaches the two guards outside of the shrine he feels a small flicker of hope. They’re standing upright on either side of the shrine door with no stiffness in their bodies. Could it be possible that the princess was alright today?

The guards bow to him on sight. “General,” one of them calls in acknowledgement.

“I’ve come here to check on the princess. Is she doing well?”

The guard to the right looks at Hak. “Uh, yes. She is doing well according to her personal maids for the day. Is there a reason you’re concerned for her safety? Would you like us to increase security?”

So the palace guard had somehow not been informed of why they were expected to guard the princess in the main castle. Or they could be lying to him. “No, no. I was just concerned because I myself was recently informed that the princess would be spending her day here.” Hak laughed, “No reason to worry. Although, I am concerned what the shrine of the first king of Kouka can accomplish that our living King Soo-won cannot.”

The guard laughs as well, “Well, perhaps the princess will know that better. I myself am not too fond of the dragon legend. Although I do hope that if there is a god in the heavens that they look upon Kouka favorably.” Hak notices that although the second guard on the left of the door hasn’t responded, his shoulders aren’t as upright anymore. Good. It would be better to lessen his pride and kiss some Sky Tribe ass while he could. Hak didn’t trust them.

Hak brings a finger over his lips. “Shh. Not right outside of King Hiryuu’s room. I don’t think he’ll like that.”

With that comment, the second guard gives a small smile as well. Hak shrugs in response as the guard opens the door to the shrine.

Hak doesn’t need to enter the shrine to see the large tomb of King Hiryuu, the rumored Crimson Dragon. He hasn’t been to the shrine often in his life, since King Il was very strict on who could enter and who couldn’t. But he’s taken aback by how much of a golden hue the area has, and not just from the lamps and window design for lighting. Not even a full two steps after Hak has entered the shrine, the sound of the doors thudding close startle him. It was such an odd sound for a door closing. It seems the shrine has peaked his interest enough for him to actually offer to stay here with the princess, if she allows so.

His gaze catches the backs of the two maids. They’re both sitting in the middle of the shrine with their heads bowed. When they hear the sound of the door opening, they both stand and turn around to bow to him. “General Hak,” they greet in the same monotone voice.

As Hak nods, he quickly looks to the rest of the shrine to see the princess. The princess who is sprawled out on the ground in her futon. Right in front of King Hiryuu’s tomb like this is a spiritual sleepover.

Hak looks to the maids. “Uh… is this…?”

The maid with the light brown hair, Saki, if he remembers correctly, answers. “General Hak, Princess Yona wanted to stay here throughout the day because of her unease at night. She hasn’t been able to sleep well for the past few nights so we decided to ask the guards to keep the doors closed while she sleeps here. Please don’t tell anyone, General. We don’t think certain people would take the princess sleeping here kindly.”

Hak nods his head in understanding. “You don't have to worry about that. How long has she been sleeping for?”

Saki answers again. “Since after her afternoon meal, General.”

Hak sighs. Well, he had finished all of his tasks since the five generals meeting was supposed to be today. And he technically is the princess’s personal bodyguard. “You two can go back to the princess’s personal palace. I’ll guard her personally from here.”

Mi-ra looks up at Hak for the first time since he’s entered the shrine. “General, the princess personally asked us to stay with her in the shrine today. It wouldn’t be wise to disobey her orders.”

“It’s fine. As the princess’s bodyguard I’m usually good at making sure she’s well looked after. You ladies have been taking care of her for the past week, so I’ll take it from here. If the princess does waken and she has an issue with you not being here, I’ll take the blame.”

Mi-ra looks at Hak with a slight bit of unease. “But, General—”

“Dear gods, Mi-ra! General Hak, I apologize on behalf of Mi-ra. We will leave as you’ve requested. Please do not take her comment as disrespect.” 

Saki bows before practically grabbing Mi-ra and leading her out of the shrine, bowing before Hak once again as they pass him to reach the shrine doors. As Saki knocks on the door to indicate to the guards to open, Hak settles his eyes on Yona.

He hasn’t really noticed it before. But her hair, although messy and sprawled out against the pillows, is alluring when the light shines on it. Had the princess’s hair always been this striking? Hak clears his mind. This wasn’t the time for him to wonder about the princess and her hair. He needs to make sure that she is safe and help her find a way to heal.

The ground is cool as Hak sits next to her futon, making sure to place his glaive beside him quietly. The shrine is luminous and has an oddly comforting presence considering the fact that it’s the tomb of King Hiryuu. While Hak didn’t question the slight divinity—if any—King Hiryuu, assuming he was the Crimson Dragon, would’ve had, he still wondered how people managed to create four dragons in their mind. Four dragons to protect the Crimson Dragon King, who was a god himself.

When the princess had told him the story King Il would tell her as a child, Hak often laughed at it. It sounded so idiotic, that just the color of your hair would reveal what type of dragon you are. Somehow the dragons wanted to stay concealed so they decided to give distinct powers and features to four dragon warriors. How intelligent. Especially now that King Il’s death had been added to the supposed list of unfortunate deaths for the ruling family, the legendary dragon gods were all the more reason for people to assume that a return was to come. As if the Crimson Dragon were a messiah.

Hak wouldn’t really have an opinion on it for himself. Except for Princess Yona’s thoughts about it. Hak isn’t even sure why he still remembers it, since it was something she pointed out when they were kids. They had been sitting on top of the castle walls after a day of playing, and while Hak and Soo-won were trying to catch their breaths, Princess Yona mentioned something about the four dragon warriors. _ I think it’s really sad_, she said, _ that because the other four dragons were selfish and wanted to protect King Hiryuu, they made all those other humans start a bloodline. What happened to all the dragons that came and had no Crimson Dragon to serve? It’s so sad. _It was a simple thought, really, but Hak often reminisced about it through the years as he travelled out of the castle for his duties and noticed the fervent worship that took place.

Princess Yona begins to stir. As Hak straightens up, he notices the glazed look in her eyes. They’re unfocused, almost as if they can see through everything. When the princess’s unfocused gaze land on him her eyes widen.

“H-Hak?”

“I’m here, Princess.” He smiles at her. “Well, it seems you coming to the shrine was a good call after all. No nightmares.”

But the princess doesn’t smile back. She sits up in her futon slowly, looking at King Hiryuu’s tomb as if Hak had never spoken a single word. This doesn’t look like the start of another fit but Hak gets ready to restrain her in case she begins to pull out her hair again.

“You can calm down, Hak. I’m fine.” Hak lessens the stiffness of his shoulders, more from embarrassment than as an order. The princess lies back down on the futon and turns to face him, an odd look in her eyes.

Well, he does know something. Kouka’s princess should not look at him like that, ever. She looks… almost as if she were inviting him. Especially with how underdressed she is, with her plain kimono. _ Fuck_, Hak reminds himself, _ this is a shrine. What the fuck is wrong with you? _

Before he can further dwell on his confusing thoughts, the princess breaks through them. “There used to be someone else here,” she whispers, “who’d also mourn. He spent long, sorrowful days in this shrine.”

As she tightens the sheets in her hands and keeps her eyes wide and unblinking, Hak knows what the look in her eye means. The princess looks possessed when she talks of her voices. Perhaps her visions are strong, so much so that they have an outer effect. Hak is probably getting caught up in them because it looks as if the ends of her hair are a glowing red, no, as if they’re on_ fire_. By the time he blinks again the illuminating effect is gone, and he’s back to looking at a still Princess Yona.

“Who?” he asks. He’s already despising the answer.

The princess shakes in response. And Hak can’t help it, he reaches over to grab her hand, linking his fingers tightly through hers. “The only thing I remember is blue hair. And he had wrappings over his eyes.” Yona’s eyes begin to water and she grips his hand tighter. “Poor Blue Dragon.”

Hak freezes. “The… the Blue Dragon from the origin legend of Kouka? Princess, that’s not—” No. If he says something now, the princess will panic. He can’t point out the fact that the four dragons were just additions to the origin story of Kouka. The princess would be more scared. Or worse, she’d become convinced that he was also against her and pull out her hair in frustration, her reasoning during these moments being that her hair is the reason for her visions. 

“Hak,” Princess Yona begins again. This time she turns to face him fully, her eyes focused more now than he’s seen since weeks. “There is something I must do when the king returns.” The king. Not even Soo-won, no hesitation that the king was no longer her father. “I want you to return to the Wind Tribe for a bit when the king returns to the castle.” Hak doesn’t know what to say. Doesn’t want to voice his most inner thoughts, that must stay locked up otherwise gritty accusations will come flying. He cannot, he _ cannot _ think for even a second that Soo-won knows something about why Princess Yona is the way she is. He cannot think that Soo-won has known and hasn’t said a single word to him. 

So he chooses to say nothing, and simply sits next to her, holding her hand. It’s the only thing he’s worth doing now, anyway.

* * *

“King Soo-won is coming back!” Min-soo is in a much happier mood than Hak this morning. Even now Hak can barely find the life in him to get out of his futon and get ready for the morning but somehow Min-soo not only knows his schedule for the day, but also knows the changes to fit all around palace security instead of guarding the princess.

While part of Hak’s unease did stem from him being unsure about Yona, he also couldn’t help but feel that something is very wrong. It sounded like such an idiotic thing to say, especially in light of being a warrior, where instincts were trained along with logic. But Hak couldn’t help it. He’d been on edge ever since King Il’s untimely death. If he makes a mistake then—no, he wasn’t going to let his thoughts go in that direction for now.

“Min-soo,” Hak asks. “Where is the princess?”

“General Hak, she did come to her chambers before nightfall to change her clothing and refreshen, but other than meals and personal matters, I do believe she intends to spend all of her time in the shrine.”

“What?” That was odd. No one in the castle was talking of how the princess only migrates between her palace and went to the castle inside the shrine? There had to be at least some palace tutors who were beginning to get angry. Or court officials due to the princess’s lack of official presence.

Min-soo seems to notice the expression on his face. “I’m not comfortable with it myself, General Hak. Some might take offense to the princess staying so casually within King Hiryuu’s shrine. But I can’t say anything since the times I’ve gone to see her, she looks like she’s improving.” And that was the only reason Hak hadn’t been bothering her to come out of the shrine. “Anyway, I’m going to help with the preparations for King Soo-won’s arrival. I’ll see you towards night, then, General Hak.”

“Thank you, Min-soo. And good luck.”

Yes, Min-soo was right. the princess was improving. However, there was no way that this could continue for long. Especially with Soo-won returning today from the borders of Kai. Once the king came back things must be brought to order. It was the reason the king’s chosen advisor would often take care of only the most important of matters. Otherwise, what would be the point of having the king as Kouka’s irreplaceable monarch? Although Hak had met the advisor a handful of times, he knew that he was not in anyone’s favor when it came to where he fit within the hierarchical structure. 

He was a general, but that was about it. Things had become quite stiff between the trio since the death of King Il. Soo-won often issued commands for Hak through a third person and promptly left the capital to pursue other matters. Hak couldn’t even remember Soo-won’s coronation, which was laughable considering the fact that it had been Hak’s dream to see Soo-won crowned king. He must’ve spent it with the princess, who was shocked still and covered in blood. He wonders if it is possible that Soo-won blames him. He still can’t stop blaming himself for not being more careful with King Il’s security. And the princess’s.

Hak had a decent relationship with General Geun-tae, so much so that it was the Earth Tribe General himself who’d given Hak his infamous title, The Thunder Beast; but that was about it. Generals Joo-doh and Soo-jin must’ve had a personal enmity with him from a previous life, since it seemed they were more hellbent on not only getting the higher ground, but making sure Hak suffered from it. There didn’t seem to be any hope for Hak in terms of the geezer Soo-jin dying, since he was sure his son Kyo-ga would be like him. General Joon-gi couldn’t care less about any of them and was often aloof.

Any careless move he would make would not only question his position as general but also Mundeok’s decision to raise Hak for the position. Hak knew his grandfather’s ambitions, and raising the status of the Wind Tribe besides being a wealthy merchant tribe was one among many. But, he wishes his own feelings hadn’t been caught up in the way. When did the princess and lord of Kouka become so precious to him? When did he get so caught up in serving King Il?

Hak falls back onto his futon, not wanting to think about the past. There had to be some way to break the bonds of it to move forward, think about things that actually had an affect on the future. He needs to focus on managing the security around the main wing of the castle today, for god’s sake—especially with the arrival of the king . But first, he needed to start with the clawing in his gut that something bad was going to happen today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to apologize if this felt like a useless chapter. I’ve focused on a more character driven chapter since I feel that the plot is going to be a lot more focused on what Hak and Yona are going to be doing while they get out of the castle. This is a mostly canon compliant story with divergence so it may seem extremely boring to you guys. Also, I tend to catch mistakes after so I am editing this story as I go. And once it’s completed I won’t start book two until I’m sure it’s well read through for mistakes.


	3. The Secrets of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is unedited for now. I had to do more work for a group project this weekend so this chapter was posted super last minute (like 11:45 PM last minute). I think this might be my longest chapter yet. Anyway, hopefully y’all remembered my “this book is probably going to be a disaster” note from the first chapter. Like I said, in order for my second book to work, I needed to fit and change events that started this whole journey from the beginning of the manga to give it direction for my story. I’m thinking of renaming this book as a “prelude” or something since it is meant to be short, and like I mentioned, my story is going to be in book two. I want to apologize if this prelude is a chore to get through, but it sets up Yona in a way that makes a lot more sense in book two than recapping this idea that I had in the story. There’s probably a couple of chapters left before this prelude is over, and then I can start book two! Thanks to everyone who’s been patient and supporting so far!

When Saki enters the shrine the next morning, she is surprised to find two things. One, Princess Yona has surprisingly not made it obvious that this is her seventh day in the shrine. Two, Princess Yona is currently sprawled out in front of King Hiryuu’s tomb. Her head rests on her arm, facing off to the side. Her long hair, left in a half up-half down style with a very simple hairpin, flows over her back. Even today the princess keeps a simple yukata on. The yukata itself is a simple blue, however, the borders have golden embroidery on them.

There is no way the princess can possibly continue to look like this as the king returns to Hiryuu Castle. Although Saki did know that the current King of Kouka didn’t place any importance on rituals, it was simply wishful thinking at this point to assume that the princess could continue to practically _live_ in the presence of a deity and no one would have a problem.

Despite Saki’s personal reservations about the spoiled princess, she couldn’t deny the fact that the princess’s condition had been improving in that she had no fits and no wild visions. However, the princess’s optimistic behavior had dwindled down into a somber existence inside of the shrine and Saki couldn’t tell why. If she really thought about it, the erratic behavior wasn’t the princess’s fault. Princess Yona had been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. If Saki’s own father was anything like the previous king, King Il, then it could have been possible that Saki would also be completely unaware and weak to the harsh realities of this world. 

“Saki,” Princess Yona begins, still as ever. “Is the king back yet?”

“No,” Saki promptly replies. “But since preparations are still going on, if it is in my place, I would say that you should perhaps prepare for the arrival of the king as well.”

A pause. “The arrival of the king, you say?” The tone in the princess’s voice changes.

There was no way Saki would ever have any recommendation to work her way up to a possible lady-in-waiting if she continued serving this princess. “... Yes. The arrival. Of the King of Kouka. Your cousin, Lord Soo-won, now the king?”

Princess Yona still doesn’t move. Saki breathes in steadily. Perhaps she should’ve sent Mi-ra for this task. However, Mi-ra as usual conveniently had other matters to attend to. In all honesty Saki was convinced that the matters Mi-ra attended to were that of a lover. But she knew better than to attempt to joke around with the stone-faced maid.

Princess Yona finally sits up. “I know quite a bit about the king myself.” Saki tries not to wince. She had slipped into being informal around the princess and had gotten a fitting reply. Princess Yona continues,“Please have it declared that I’m retiring to my chambers today. Due to this I will not be able to participate in any returning celebration that will be taking place for the return of the king. I will leave the shrine if the palace members are concerned about my lack of propriety.” 

Saki can’t see the expression on her face, since she’s currently facing King Hiryuu’s tomb. This princess. She was going mad yet had an omniscient aura that surrounded her at the same time. Was it possible that there was something more to the princess and the king…? No, Princess Yona was loyal to the royal family. She was obviously like this since she’d witnessed the death of her father. If Saki were a lady-in-waiting then she’d suggest a seer or an oracle. But when she started serving in the castle a few months before the princess’s sixteenth birthday she’d learned that oracles, seers, and priests were no longer allowed within Hiryuu Castle. Rumor had it that Lord Yu-hon even banned them from the capital. It made her wonder what had caused Lord Soo-won to become _ King _ Soo-won, assuming that it was a system that dictated the king have a divine right to rule.

“Very well, Princess. I will have it arranged to have your futon removed and to have the shrine cleaned quickly. I assume you wish to stay in your current state of dress within your chambers as well?” Princess Yona nods.

Saki sighs. Well, that wasn’t so bad. Princess Yona actually agreed to something without a fuss. Although Saki did believe now more than before that there was something in this shrine that was protecting the princess’s sanity. What other explanation could there be for her sudden improvement without any help? Unless that boy Min-soo’s teas contained some kind of magic… hm.

* * *

Yona looks outside of her window from within her chambers. It’s a very comfortable window, constructed so that she can rest her head on her arms as she studies the trees, and the vines scaling the walls surrounding her garden. To be fair, with all the running around and avoiding she’s done from other castle staff besides her personal maids, and the tutors, and other officials; it’s probably better that she stay in her chambers within her private palace rather than her chambers in the castle.

She enjoys this garden view. There’s a small pond Father had gotten constructed for her while building her palace, and it lies straight in the center of her garden. Small water plants grew from within it, and Yona often studied them when lost in thought. How easily those flowers bloomed in a place where most would drown from all the water. The pond had a small bridge that went over it, so that she would walk over it whenever she wished, although, Yona thinks Father had really gotten that made for himself. He always spent more time checking on what plants needed what type of maintenance, what forms of life lived within the water and out of it. Yona hadn’t even started actually admiring the garden until after her sixteenth birthday.

What had she been doing while her father had looked over the plans and toiled? What had she been thinking when Father would simply ask about plants that he’d likely searched about himself, and she would change her mind during the last minute?

What a sad life she’d lived. Not because of tragedy, but because she had failed to make use of her position, her allies, her luck of being born a princess in this life. But now… but now her eyes had opened. And in what a pathetic way at that.

She couldn’t mourn her father again. Not with that bastard Kye-sook all too eager to find an opportunity to kill her before she got answers. Although she wasn’t sure if Soo-won even had all of those answers. There was something about Hiryuu Shrine, and about the dragons.

They weren’t actually real, were they? Were the dragons not physical manifestations of virtue and morality for the people of Kouka to follow? But then why could she see someone similar to herself within the shrine? Someone whose pain matched her own? Yona didn’t care what the world said. She wasn’t hallucinating. She _ knew _ she wasn’t, she could feel it in her bones. Or maybe she was mad, so deep into it that she would drag everyone else with her down in it.

But then again, these questions didn’t matter. Now that Min-soo was safely disassociated with her, and Hak would be heading back to the Wind Tribe, she could confront Soo-won and hope that the least that would happen is her death would mark the end of all this untimely death and blood that covered the current legacy of the royal family of Kouka. What else could she do besides dying with her father? What else was she even worth?

In her train of thought, Yona pulls out something she’s kept with her ever since that night. It’s been a literal thorn in her side, constantly reminding her of the fool she’d been. The hairpin she’d received on her birthday from Soo-won. As she twirls it between her fingers thoughts of blood and death replay within her memories. Yona had heard rumors around the castle that it was common for cousins to get married. It would prevent a future feud from resulting if her and Soo-won were to marry. While Yona herself had never fancied love or marriage, the thought of Soo-won being her future husband had made her feel safe. It had given her some form of control over her life. What a hilarious thought that was. Surely the ancestors, that she also shared with Soo-won, laughed at her expense, her naive stupidity.

As the thoughts continue swirling through Yona’s mind, she shakes as the tears come again. Yona couldn’t do this. She had to be silent and keep it all on the inside. Just a little while more. By the time the day that marked the arrival for Kouka’s new beloved king would be over, she’d be dead.

* * *

Call it an ominous feeling, maybe even a connection of the soul, but sometimes Hak just felt Soo-won. It had been that way ever since they were kids, and Hak wanted to reach where Soo-won was, with his easy going ability to talk to others and his warfare talent.

Maybe it was that longing feeling that just bound itself between them. Maybe that was what had Hak feeling that Soo-won was here before the castle bell even tolled, before the announcement was made.

“The Eleventh King of Kouka, His Majesty Soo-won is entering the castle!” Hak turns around to face the large, expansive courtyard and ignores the cheers, so deafeningly loud that they tune out the sound of the castle gates opening.

Hak expects to feel a wide range of emotions when he sees his, no, the new King. But he simply ends of observing that Soo-won isn’t very dressed up. He’s wearing a simple white cloak and is sitting high on his horse. Compared to him, some of the guards following him are more decorated. Hak recognizes General Joo-doh to Soo-won’s right, with his focused eyes facing forward and his armor kept on, like he always wears. Hak himself is too far back to be of any notice, so it is likely probable that he isn’t in their sights.

_ What a big show_, Hak thinks. He never thought Soo-won of all people would care for such grandeur upon entering a castle. But then again, Soo-won had just returned from his border check around Northern Kai, a trip he went on after he’d secured the support of General Geun-tae of all people. The _ one _ general Hak somewhat had on his side, or at least used to. Hak knows General Geun-tae isn’t stupid. The general won’t side with someone like himself when push comes to shove, a general from the tribe with the weakest military strength, and go against the Sky Tribe; and in some cases, by default, go against the king.

Hak doesn’t even want to pay attention to the way the people within the castle practically disperse to the side, almost as an ocean parting way for a messiah, as Soo-won rides into the castle.

The chants rang through his ears. “Long live King Soo-won.” 

“Long live King Soo-won!”

“_L__ong live King Soo-won_!”

It almost makes Hak laugh. The whole courtyard is decorated with banners and and streams of the symbol of Kouka. All so that Soo-won can ride within the castle grounds for five fucking minutes before going back to his chambers for whatever. And then _ hopefully _summoning a proper five generals meeting. 

Hak needs to get out of here. Hak doesn’t even apologize to the guard that he bumps into behind him as he storms out of the courtyard, entering deep beyond the castle grounds and eventually sitting down angrily on a large stone in the middle of some garden.

_ Come on think, think! _

The stone is cold, and forces him to focus on what is happening now. His glaive thuds to the ground and Hak doesn’t even have it in him to lift it up and set it down closer to himself. As Hak calms down and looks around him, he finds that it’s not even a proper garden, just some tall grassy area behind some part of the castle where the castle staff didn’t even care to clean up. How fitting that this was his only refuge.

He rests his elbows on his knees, placing his face in his hands to close his eyes. He can’t watch the sun shine as brightly as it is, listen to the glorious chanting meant for the King of Kouka, and watch the world shine and carry on as he sits in impending doom.

In this case, it would be better for Hak to ally himself with some Sky Tribe soldiers by continuing to train them, probably find a way to kiss the ass of some of the Sky Tribe soldiers more closely in alliance with General Joo-doh himself. Even if Hak was an imposter as some people like to point out. He knows his position is technically supposed to be General Joo-doh’s. But since Soo-won is king, maybe the Sky Tribe General had slacked off on him a bit now that he guarded the king and Hak himself guarded Princess Yona.

But Hak isn’t too stupid, either. He knows that Princess Yona’s status has fallen. When the first five generals meeting following the death of King Il occurred, that he wasn’t even summoned to, it was decided that Soo-won would have to be declared King of Kouka immediately. When Hak had heard the news about a week after King Il’s death, he was sure there would be a second part to follow. The part in the announcement that was supposed to state that Soo-won would marry Princess Yona to secure his supposed claim to the throne. But that never happened.

Now that Soo-won held the position of king, the position that Lord Yu-hon was supposed to hold anyway, it seemed justifiable in the eyes of the rest of the generals. Princess Yona had been the king’s daughter. But that was it. She was the king’s _ daughter_. Her husband would’ve been declared the King of Kouka. And Princess Yona would have provided the next heir who would either become King himself or marry someone meant to be the next king. Perhaps if she were a son, she could’ve tried to override Soo-won’s claim. But with an unknown possibility of who would actually wield the throne’s power as the princess’s husband, it seemed better in the eyes of the generals to support the claim that Soo-won should be declared king.

And so the coronation had carried on as if Soo-won’s uncle hadn’t died. As if Soo-won’s cousin wasn’t locked up in her chambers for weeks, refusing to even eat for the first few days. Hak hadn’t expected Soo-won to drop everything just for the princess’s grief, but not even one visit? What was wrong with him? 

In the end, Min-soo and Hak hadn’t attended the coronation. He’d simply stayed put in Princess Yona’s chambers as another fever had wrecked her body, so out of it that Min-soo had to be the one to suggest to Hak to write a letter to General Mundeok to hand over administrative duties of the Wind Tribe to him completely.

What was wrong with the princess? One second she was mourning through irreparable grief and the next she wanted him to leave for the Wind Tribe? She was demanding things as if she didn’t need him anymore. That wasn’t happening, and Hak was more sure than ever now that he had made the correct decision by withholding the fact that he was still here from her.

But he did know that there had to be a damn good reason that the princess had decided to order him to leave the castle. And if he kept an eye on her. Well, it would be the only way to get answers from her.

* * *

As the sun begins to set, the shaking in Yona’s hands increase. Yona had become quite familiar with the feeling of being ill, it was the only thing her body was capable of being as the days passing her father’s death increased. Was this really how the last night of her life would be? With her not even being sure where all of her friends were? No. It didn’t matter. Min-soo barely had any connection to what really happened that night, and he wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk his life to defend someone like her. Hak on the other hand… no. That was why she sent him away. She didn’t want to look too suspicious by asking someone to keep an eye on him, but figuring that Hak had missed many opportunities to return to the Wind Tribe because of her, he had probably went on his way.

_ Stay safe, Hak_. _ And please remember me after I’m gone, okay? _

As the night bell tolls, Yona ignores the feeling of a heavy weight on her head.

_ Hiryuu _ … _ where are you? I have been waiting for you, but my patience isn’t infinite. Please free me. Please, please, please, pleasepleasepleaseplease _—

“_Shut up_!” Yona angrily bangs her hand against the sill of the window she’s looking out of. Gods, her last night in this world and she couldn’t even get a few minutes of peace. Her voices had been acting up again. Another surge of anger shoots through Yona from the thought of the humiliation she’s had to bear during the time she should’ve been properly mourning her father, and the urge to pull the stupid red strands of hair from her head increases.

_ Wait_, she thinks. _ Why? What’s wrong with my hair? _Yona sits back up in a more comfortable position. Wait, _ what _ had the voice said to her again…? Had she managed to anger the Crimson Dragon King? Was all of this some sort of punishment as a sinful and gluttonous princess? 

Normally, Yona would cry out for someone to stay with her but she could hardly care anymore. She just wanted to go to wherever Father had gone, and apologize to the ancestors for being, what was likely, the most useless princess in Kouka’s history to exist. She just needed answers to get there.

Yona sits up. Alright. Soo-won—the thought of his name makes her want to curl up and scream—was likely in his chambers now. She couldn’t practically burst into his chambers, but she could make somewhat of a ruckus outside to demand an audience with him.

Yona is thinking intensely enough that at first she doesn’t notice the sound behind her. As her train of thought is interrupted by a muffled shout, Yona turns around.

Only to find Saki on the floor. For a second Yona completely freezes as the memory of her father thudding to the floor rings through her mind. Yona backs away slowly and bumps against the wall as she thinks of how she held her father as he died instantly. Her eyes stay focused on Saki’s fallen form; and a small bit of relief goes through her as she sees Saki’s chest moving.

“You don’t need to worry, Princess Yona. This maid isn’t the one who is meant to die here tonight. But she’ll wake up to something quite tragic in the morning.”

As Yona’s eyes flash over to where the voice is coming from, she feels an odd sense of dread, as if she had any right to want to live. It takes a while for her eyes to focus, and she stops shaking as she sees that the bottom of the robe isn’t Soo-won’s white robe at all, but a simple dark purple one. The dread comes back. No…

“While I don’t understand the despair you feel,” Yona grits her teeth as Advisor Kye-sook steps out from the shadows, “I promise you that your death will not be meaningless and in vain. While I don’t have much control over the rumors that have already spread from King Il’s death, I can promise you that you will be the courageous daughter who dutifully followed her father.”

_ Get it together! _ “You promise a lot of things for someone not even related to the royal family.” The advisor simply folds his hands in front of him, his long robe concealing him from her.

Yona tries to do a quick once over of her chambers. She had been facing the window, and the door to her chamber was on the other side. Advisor Kye-sook had been standing in the far end of the room, close to her chamber doors but not quite. There must’ve been a reason he’d decided to choose that spot, after all. There would be no way she could outrun the advisor.

“His Majesty Soo-won has summoned you,” Advisor Kye-sook began.

Yona can tell that there’s more to his explanation. But she cuts him off before he can continue.

“Where is Soo-won?” she manages to ask. “I know I’m quite useless when it comes to matters of the court, but who summons a person during the dead of the night? And sends a lone person for that, too?”

The advisor doesn’t look like someone who is practically bringing Yona to her own death and eventually sets his face in a frown. “His Majesty Soo-won is currently preoccupied. Which is why I’ve come here to do the task he wasn’t able to do.” 

“Advisor Kye-sook. What would my death accomplish for the King of Kouka? I’m a fallen princess with no support. If I were to say something, wouldn’t I have said it the night my father died?” It was a risk, but better to reveal what she knew rather than play this pointless game, considering the fact that she had no cards to play in the first place.

Advisor Kye-sook doesn’t say anything. Eventually he begins, “His Majesty was reluctant to kill you, after you collapsed from witnessing your father’s death at his hands. And _ especially _ after you didn’t remember anything. I was suspicious, and after some investigating of my own, concluded that you had indeed gone mad after the death of King Il.”

Yona knew that there was more to this story. Otherwise Advisor Kye-sook wouldn’t have been confident enough to personally approach her chambers at night. Which meant that either the guards outside of her chamber, possibly her entire palace, were dead or had simply disappeared just as they’d done on the night of her sixteenth birthday. Either he had reinforcements to kill her outside, or he was confident enough to do the task himself. But Yona couldn’t leave Saki on the floor, what if she was murdered or accused of working with some imaginary enemy when she woke up the next morning?

“But…” the advisor continued, “_I_have been keeping an eye on you. You are connected to the royal family after all. While there is no doubt that you probably did lose mental semblance, what a beautiful miracle it was that you somehow managed to keep your bearings minutes after entering the Hiryuu Shrine.”

_ What… but how could he have known? _ Yona’s mind runs through options with the small amount of information she has. It had to be one of the guards. No, someone who knew her condition more intimately... her maids, but who? Saki was the most recent one, and what with her being unconscious on the floor it was unlikely she was with the other side. _ Or is this another act, _ her mind continued, _ something that means that everything you’ve ever known about is once again just a lie? _

“You were probably doubtful of everything,” the advisor continued, “so even if you did gain your memories of that night, which I’m assuming happened in the shrine, you stayed quiet about it. Otherwise I’m sure the Thunder Beast would’ve killed His Majesty in a second.”

Yona knew she was done for. “So you know that I know everything,” she hisses out. “Well? What’s the rush? Why not just kill me and have it done with right here, right now? Or does Soo-won want to gloat by doing the deed with his own hand?”

“Now that I’ve confirmed that you are good at keeping your mouth shut for certain things, I have a much better idea. A second death from the royal family within months of the previous king dying? It is sure to raise questions, especially now that you have no value. But, if the thoughts of the citizens could be given a little direction, then a fitting story would direct itself.”

Yona tries to think of what Advisor Kye-sook’s words could possibly mean. But her mind comes up blank, which must be reflected in her expression as Advisor Kye-sook shakes his head. 

“Don’t you see, Princess Yona? You don’t control everything around here. And your Thunder Beast has not left the castle at all. No doubt he’s attempting to investigate. Of course, by the time he’ll find you, he’ll also find himself facing charges for treason. What with that, the one who knows the truth of the king and isn’t loyal to him, _ and _ the only supporter she has will be executed. And that, well,” Advisor Kye-sook allows a small smile to come over his face,“that would fix _ everything_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hopefully the fact that I have to tell since I might’ve failed to “show” in my story isn’t too bad. But basically, this story took place a few months after Yona’s sixteenth birthday and the death of King Il. Now, Yona does witness the death of King Il by Soo-won’s hand, but the shock of someone dying so close to her (remember, Il kept her REALLY sheltered for whatever reason) does trigger a form of remembrance from her past (in this case, her past life). I’ve added this element to the story since Hiryuu himself seemed to remember where he came from, or he probably remembered when the Dragons came down to save him before he got executed. Now, another element which will be introduced in the next chapter for why Yona hears her “voices”, which if you’ve caught on, are the voices of the numerous Dragon Warriors who lived and died without even seeing the Crimson Dragon. Anyway, thank you for your support!


	4. The Shattering of Illusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first I want to apologize. I wanted to post this chapter after dinner last night but our family friends had an emergency. I still would’ve been able to post this chapter, except I didn’t know what parts to cut out (for the next chapter) to make sure this was a bearable length to read. As you can tell, unfortunately, this chapter is also largely unedited, which I will make sure to go back and correct.

Yona has had close contact with fire only once before; the night her father died. It was her saviour then, better to try her luck now. The thought comes to her last minute, really. As she leans against the wall, attempting to back away from Advisor Kye-sook, she wonders how she will possibly outrun him. There’s no doubt he’s had significant training to be so closely associated with the king.

As her back touches the wall and she inches away from her window, Yona hopes that she can reach the candle before he tries something. Oddly enough, he hadn’t been trying  _ anything _ as of yet. Was he waiting for her to fail so that he could kill her on his own? As she nears the source of light, the smallest flicker of relief goes through her.

“Causing a commotion tonight isn’t going to save you, Princess.”

Yona doesn’t even look at him. Her hands are shaking as she reaches out for the candle. She grasps the bottom of the candle in her hands easily. Quickly pulling it to herself, Yona risks a look back at the advisor. His face is the same as before, no nervousness marrs his features. She is practically panting now. She had something, but there is no way she can set fire within her chambers with Saki on the floor, no doubt the girl would die.

Kye-sook sighs. “Maybe instead of trying to cause another fire within your palace, which is going to deduct money that will be coming from the allowance you have, you should come with me. I don’t know where this sudden will to live has sparked within you.”

Yona narrows her eyes as she shakes her head at him slowly. “I won’t let you do it, I won’t let you touch Hak, let alone attempt to execute him. Even if I have to force myself to live for that to happen.” It’s almost laughable, really. Hak, who could literally send a number of men flying with one swipe of his glaive is going to be protected by her of all people.

“The Thunder Beast is your dear childhood friend, yes? Perhaps a little more? Why not show His Majesty the same loyalty you’re showing to the Wind Tribe General now?” There is a pause after this question of the advisor’s. Surely he couldn’t be serious.

Yona can’t help it. She begins to laugh. “Y-You’re serious?” She almost drops the candle as her body shakes; the worst part is that she can’t even tell if its in fear or some sort of twisted humor death has brought upon her. “Hak would never kill my father! He is the most selfless person I know.”  _ And it’s been wasted on me _ , she adds in her mind.

“And His Majesty? Did you not have faith in him before your sixteenth birthday as well? There were even talks of your possible engagement to him in order to honor Lord Yu-hon.” When Yona doesn’t respond, Advisor Kye-sook continues. “If the Thunder Beast would’ve killed your father, would you not have at least questioned in your mind once what lead to that happening?”

When Yona doesn’t respond, Advisor Kye-sook continues. “To be honest, I don’t expect you to understand anything. Not unless it directly concerns you, anyway. However, not all of Kouka’s citizens are as blessed to be born within the royal family. They struggle tremendously and receive no reward to it.”

The same guilt that’s existed inside of her for so long continues brewing. She had been thinking of those things for the past few weeks. But she had also decided to push those worries to the back of her mind since she’d be joining Father with the ancestors.

But now, even though she couldn’t fix those things, at the very least she could try to save someone who would benefit Kouka. Hak, her best friend, someone who deserves the admiration of others. Yona’s eyes flit over to the window on her side. If she ran outside then she would be at risk of coming into the hands of the Sky Tribe. There was no way she’d be able to jump out of the window, and there was no ledge for her to walk along. Setting the room on fire with Saki unconscious could put her life in danger.

As Yona’s hands continue shaking, she feels the hot burning of candle wax drip along her hand. She hadn’t even thought of grabbing the candlestand. A thought comes to her mind, but she will need to stay put in place for more wax to become hot enough to spill. Her eyes look over to where Kye-sook is standing and the distance from her chamber door. She begins inching along the wall.

“Princess. I will have to call in the guard to escort you if you do not come along.”

Yona ignores him and continues her slow and steady path towards the corner of the room. If this were to work, she would need to be in a place where there was nowhere to run. When Kye-sook opens his mouth again, she knocks over another candle lamp that was near the corner of her room. The only source of light left is the one in her hands.

Yona deliberately looks to Kye-sook as she brings her hand over the candle. Irritation has come over his face as he looks at her. “I will not be as blinded as you think I’ll be, Princess. Extinguishing light will not do anything.” Damn it. He wasn’t coming to her. And if she went to him then he’d be able to predict what it is she was trying to do.

Kye-sook looks even angrier as he notices the determined expression on her face. “Princess, I  _ will _ call the—”

“The second you do, I will burn myself. And if death won’t come to me fast enough in that form, then I’ll jump out of my window. Even if I did die, I would scream loud enough for everyone else to hear. Unless you wish for me to believe that you have every single guard, employee, tutor, or noble on your side?”

“Oh please,” Kye-sook scoffs. “Give me that damned candle.”

“I’ll burn myself before that happens.” She’s not afraid of the fire, at least not in this moment.

With a glare, Kye-sook begins approaching her. In seconds he’s close enough to be able to grab her arm and attempt to wrench the candle from her hand. As they struggle, Yona tips the candle over on his hand, hearing him hiss as he pulls back for one second. 

It was all she needed to whack the candlestick on top of his head, hearing a sound of pain come from the advisor as he bends his head down. Before she can think of what to do, she chucks the burning candle at him, not even turning back to hear what sound comes from him. She doesn’t waste time to think as she rushes towards her chamber doors.

She’s practically out of breath as she yanks the door open and half falls out of her chambers. Sure enough, there are guard there.  _ I’m sorry, Saki _ . But now was the time not to take the risk of finding out whether or not the guards posted within her palace were on her side or not.

“A-Advisor Kye-sook!” she practically yells. “I-I don’t know what happened, but he’s been attacked by my maid! She attacked my other maid who’s on the floor unconscious. She’s gone mad!”

The two guards that take action instantly don’t bother confirming how many people are within her chambers. As they rush in, Yona doesn’t hesitate to run in the opposite direction as quickly as she can. They likely didn’t know that Saki was the only maid that had stayed with her the whole day since so many of them were going in and out of her chamber all day.

As Yona runs around a corner, she notices how there are less than half of what her usual guard is. So the guards currently here were the ones on Soo-won’s side. She panics as she hears footsteps behind her. It seemed they’d caught on her to her lie pretty quickly. She didn’t have much time. Yona hears the guards behind her yelling to one another. No doubt they’d be calling attention to her running off the way she was.

As Yona rounds another corner, her eyes catch the set of stairs winding down in a direction that led to the small winding path between her private palace and Hiryuu Castle. She wasn’t sure what side of the castle the path led to since the servants usually walked this way. Better to try what little luck she had. 

What was her plan? Even if she did take any rash action on her own to avoid getting into the hands of Kye-sook or Soo-won, it was likely any harm that came to her would be blamed on Hak. She needs to find Hak first. Kye-sook himself had mentioned that Hak hadn’t left the capital. The rest could come later.

Without wasting any time, Yona bunches up her skirts and begins running. The guards probably don’t expect her to take that path, but she doesn’t hesitate. The only thing she can hope for is that this wouldn’t lead to something worse.

Yona cries out as her foot unexpectedly trips over the last step. As she hits the harsh ground, she winces at the burning on her hands. Yona quickly looks behind her. She could see at least four guards behind her now. They were rushing towards her. Why had she thought that she could outrun them all?

_ No, no more doubting _ . Yona gets back up on her feet and begins running again. As she heads towards the more open area, she realizes with dread that this is leading to the main courtyard. Even in the dark, with her breath leaving her body faster than she can catch it, Yona notices the long arrangement of ribbons falling down the large wall. The symbol of Kouka almost taunting her with its image of the Crimson Dragon. She couldn’t run through the gates, it was unlikely that they’d open just for her. But—

“ _ Aah _ !” The pained cry is sharp as Yona feels a sharp pain on the skin of her legs. This time she hits the ground even harsher, her head throbbing as she feels the pain of her head slamming against the rough surface.

Before she can even open her eyes she feels strong arms grab her. Yona keeps her eyes closed, absolutely nothing coming to her mind. She begins to struggle as the thought of Hak being blamed for her bloody death comes to her mind. As her eyes open, she notices her head is being held back by her hair by one Sky Tribe guard. Another keeps her hands pinned. As the pain in her legs becomes an itch, she notices a third holding a whip in his hands.

As her eyes come into focus, her stomach drops as a fourth guard, with his hands shaking holds a sword high over her head. “I’m sorry, Princess,” he says. And Yona knows from the look in his eyes that he’s not lying. “But I promise you, only I will carry the burden of this sin, and your death will benefit Kouka for generations to come.”

Yona shakes. She wants to ask for confirmation that nothing will happen to Hak. But it is likely that this guard doesn’t even know Kye-sook’s plan. As she attempts to thrash she notices the shaking increase in the soldier’s arms.

“Hurry up and do it!” the soldier holding her arms behind her back yells. “The faster you do it, the more painless it will be!”

From the corner of her eye, Yona sees something that causes her to still.

In front of the courtyard lied the throne room. And right there in front of the throne room doors stood Advisor Kye-sook, holding a cloth up to his forehead, a small trickle of blood running down the side of his head. His outer robe was off as well. Unlike in her chambers where he was calm and composed, save for a few flashes of emotion, now he looked ready to kill. But beside him,  _ right there _ beside him, was Soo-won.

Soo-won was wearing his plain white robes, with their purple borders. If she ever saw him again, she’d expected him to be wearing his heavily embroidered ones he’d been wearing for a while. Instead, he looked the same as ever. She  _ hated _ looking at him like that.

At her stiffening, the four guards attempting to kill her also still.

She can’t even look away from Soo-won. The surmount of emotions rising up within her also riles up the voices deep inside. For the first time in her life, she is able to ignore and push them aside as her eyes narrow on Soo-won’s perfectly blank expression. But she knows this expression very well now. It is the same expression he had to work to keep over his face when he’d had one of pity, while looking at her crying over her father’s dead body in her arms.

_ I’m not surprised that once again, you have no explanation for this, Soo-won _ .

The voice inside of her is quick to respond.  _ Don’t be surprised, call upon the heavens. The heavens, the heavens! _ Yona eases her muscles, sore as her arms and legs are, and looks back up at the starry sky.

“I can’t call upon the heavens,” Yona says softly. The guards around her look confused but Yona keeps talking. “If you’re so willing to have the heavens intervene, then allow the heavens to bestow blessings and protection upon Son Hak. That is my dying wish.” 

Yona feels a tingling in the very back of her head. Her body begins to shake from a feeling that she is not known to.  _ What…? _ As Yona takes a breath to request this feeling inside of her to protect Hak, a gust of wind from behind her cuts her off.

The wind current is so strong that Yona has to shut her eyes. Her mind briefly registers the shouting of the guards, all pushed back away from her. With no one holding her, she falls to the ground, barely able to stabilize her body as she sits back on her legs. Her long hair comes flying into her face and she gasps. Had the heavens actually responded to the prayers of someone like her?

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Lord Soo-won?”

Yona’s eyes flash open. She doesn’t recognize the voice. But as her eyes focus… no way… even as she sees him now she doesn’t believe it. The wind from what she guesses is Hak’s glaive still rushes around her, causing his blue robes to blow with the wind to the side. Had Hak always been this strong?

“I had tried to stay out of your way tonight, what with you returning to Hiryuu Castle with all your pomp and grandeur. But what with the security around the princess’s palace being cut in less than half and no one telling me anything, I just  _ had _ to interfere. Nothing good ever comes out of ugly noses pointing themselves in others business.” Hak’s back is to her, so Yona can’t see the expression on his face. But he sounds so, so angry. Yona doesn’t think she’s ever seen Hak like this before.

_ Of course, by the time he’ll find you, he’ll also find himself facing charges for treason _ .

“H-Hak!” she manages to let out. “You have to leave! Get out of here! You should’ve been at the Wind Tribe by now!”

Hak turns around, his face perfectly calm, but his eyes unreadable. He kneels down next to her gently. Yona doesn’t even realize that her hands have been shaking this whole time until he holds on to them with a firm grasp. “I left your side before, on your sixteenth birthday. I promised you when you woke up that it wouldn’t happen again.”

“B-But—”

“I’ve received orders from King Il to protect you. And to my knowledge, I haven’t received orders from Kouka’s Eleventh King that contradict that, either. So,” Hak slowly rises, giving her a small smile as he turns around, “no matter what happens from here on, I will obey those orders to my dying breath. It  _ is _ my duty, as one of Kouka’s five generals and pillars.”

“Oh, please,” Kye-sook tosses the bloodstained cloth to the side. “Perhaps you do not know, but this princess you’ve received orders to protect were from a  _ king _ . And that very princess has refused to acknowledge the authority of the new king  _ and _ has attacked an advisor!” Kye-sook angrily points to the blood trickling down the side of his head. “You are in the presence of Kouka’s King and your arrogance allows you to call him ‘Lord’ Soo-won? On top of that you choose to support a half-mad traitor!”

“I’m sorry, Soo-won is the king of what now?”

Kye-sook grits his teeth. “I should’ve known treachery is your intent the second you did not even show yourself to the coronation.”

“How nice,” Hak continues. “I don’t remember even being invited to vote or give my opinion as a general of Kouka.” Hak lets out a shaky laugh. “Well, Lord Soo-won? Want to explain exactly what is happening here? Why am I getting such a bad feeling from you?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Yona’s eyes go over to Soo-won. It’s the first words he’s spoken tonight. The first words she’s heard from him in months. “There would be a bad feeling in the air, especially considering how I had to personally send King Il to hell. Perhaps—”

Yona hears a panicked  _ Your Majesty! _ from Kye-sook as she realizes that Hak has practically  _ flown _ from being by her side to swiping his glaive in Soo-won’s direction. She feels a tumulting feeling in her stomach as Soo-won swiftly pulls out his father’s sword, the one he used to murder her father, and blocks Hak’s attack with it.

She can hear commotion from around her. But no guard comes to back the king. Hak had knocked all of them to the ground when he’d come to save her.

“Have you completely lost your mind?!” he yells at Soo-won. “Even if you’re trying to tell a lie because you’re pissed about me from these past few months that’s  _ still _ going too far!”

Hak and Soo-won are caught in a struggle, both of them pushing against one another with their weapons. Yona feels an odd sensation in her throat. There’s no way, Soo-won had learned how to fight like this, good enough to hold off  _ Hak _ , with a year of training. So it was true. From the moment Uncle Yu-hon died, Soo-won had been planning on killing Father.

“Ask the princess!” Soo-won manages to grit out. “She saw the king’s death with her own eyes. She can even confirm the moment he took his dying breath since she held his dying body in her own arms.”

“ _ Soo-won _ !” Hak kicks Soo-won in the stomach, and swipes his glaive towards Soo-won’s head, only to have it be blocked by Soo-won’s sword, his arms shaking as he holds off Hak’s strength. “Tell me the truth! You actually did it?! You killed—” Soo-won backs down as Hak’s strength overpowers him, quickly leaping to the side as Hak’s glaive smashes the ground where Soo-won had been standing to pieces. “—that compassionate king?!” As Hak turns to his right to strike at Soo-won once again, Soo-won manages to block Hak’s attack with another strike from his sword.

As Soo-won jumps back onto the stairs in front of the throne room, where he’d been standing before, Yona sees the panicked expression on Kye-sook’s face. “Your Majesty!”

“Stay back,” Soo-won orders. “Your heads will roll if you come any closer and into his range. Are you forgetting why Son Hak had made General of the Wind Tribe at fifteen years old? Geun-tae himself named him ‘The Thunder Beast of Kouka’.”

“Soo-won,” Hak continues. “I refuse to believe you killed the king for selfish reasons. Why? Why did you do it? Why would you kill such a kind king?” Yona feels tears well up in her eyes. Those were the questions that she had asked. But she didn’t want Hak to hear the answers.

Soo-won looks at Hak. “A kind king?” he asks. “This kingdom,” Yona pales as she sees Soo-won raise his sword and slowly walk down the steps, “doesn’t need a kind king!”

“ _ No _ !” Yona screams out, but it’s too late. Soo-won has already whipped his sword in Hak’s direction. She couldn’t… she couldn’t believe. Soo-won was attacking  _ Hak _ ?

Her hands begin to shake. Soo-won and Hak are moving too fast. Her mouth opens in slight shock. Soo-won who couldn’t even shoot arrows on still targets properly when he’d come to the castle a bit before her sixteenth birthday could now attack and dodge Hak? The two figures become blurry as tears well up in her eyes. Soo-won and Hak, they were fighting. Over what? As she manages to blink them away, she notices Hak has taken the lead in the fight. Soo-won manages to dodge two hits before Hak’s glaive gets him in the shoulder.

As Soo-won hisses and steps back, Yona feels something cool against the side of her neck. “Stop right there!” she hears Kye-sook call out. As Hak and Soo-won both freeze, she notices Hak’s eyes widen as he turns to look at her. Yona gasps as she’s pulled back by her hair, forcing her throat to become open. She feels the sword shift to the front of her neck and coughs.

From the sides, more Sky Tribe guards surround Hak. There had to be at least eight of them. “It would be best to lay down your weapon, Thunder Beast.” 

Yona hears a loud thud as Hak simply lets go of his glaive.  _ No, no _ ! She knew what would happen if she died. Hak would be executed for murdering her, especially now that he’d actually gone out and attacked the king. Her hands shake. This wasn’t like with Kye-sook where she could grab something and then attack him! She had nothing to protect herself with. Even if she managed to escape the guard holding her, it would be unlikely to work with the other guards surrounding them.

“Was the Soo-won that I knew just an illusion?” Hak asks softly. Yona tries not to let the question overcome her. It’d been what she herself had been thinking for all these months after all. “I had thought…” Hak’s voice cracks before he can continue. “I had thought that I could entrust the princess to you. Let you stand by her side.”

“Even though you’ve been general for three years, you still haven’t seen the world, have you, Son Hak? You might as well be as childish as Princess Yona herself.” Yona clenches her hands. She couldn’t tell what she hated more. Soo-won’s silence or Kye-sook’s constant chattering. “I had been attempting to explain this to the princess myself a few minutes back. Kouka Kingdom will fall if it would’ve continued as it did under King Il. You and your foolish princess, would live in the comforts provided by Hiryuu Castle would never understand what King Soo-won had too—”

“Advisor Kye-sook,” Soo-won’s voice calls out softly. “Learn to watch your tongue.” Kye-sook stops talking immediately.

“Hak,” Soo-won begins. “The Soo-won that you knew was just an illusion. As of now, if you stand against me—if it’s Yona or even you, I will strike you down. I  _ will _ do it, no matter who it is.”

The guard had one hand in her hair and his other on his sword. Could she strike her hand back fast enough to injure him? As she stills she notices the guard’s grip isn’t becoming any less firm. As Yona ponders, she feels the same tingling in the back of her head.

_ This can’t be how it ends _ , she thinks.  _ This can’t be how I die _ . Even now as tears come from her eyes, she hates herself. She couldn’t even ensure the protection of one person close to her during her last moments. What did that make her?  _ Ancestors, please, just help me out this one last time, I won’t let another innocent fall _ . As she closes her eyes and fiercely begs, Yona misses the guard’s hold loosening as an arrow pierces the ground in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! If you would’ve asked me before I started writing this book if Yona getting from her chambers to being pinned down in the courtyard (or wherever the location is actually meant to be in) would be ONE WHOLE CHAPTER I would’ve said no. The good thing about writing a story that I mostly have a plan for is that writing comes easier to me. So far I’m satisfied with how this story’s going. I am a little confused on where to end this off (so that the plot can pick up the rest of this for book two before the “time skip” happens). I think I might need to take advantage of a little bit more of the set of events to make sure that Yona being the Crimson Dragon is portrayed a little more properly. 
> 
> Also, hopefully you picked this off of the previous chapter, but in this AU, Yona has never been in love with Soo-won, but she trusted him enough to accept him as a potential husband. She is not in love with Hak in this prelude, either, but is not immune to his attractions, lol. (Once again I’m doing more telling than showing!) Anyway, thank you for reading!


	5. The Will to Survive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And once again there is an unedited chapter. I’m really sorry if the writing feels choppy, but I will definitely finish editing all of this work before beginning on the sequel!

Hak doesn’t waste time, doesn’t even listen to the sounds of everyone panicking, wondering where the arrow came from. Without wasting time, he kicks up his fallen glaive to catch it in his hands, and then kicks the guard right behind him to the ground before running towards the princess. Thankfully there weren’t enough guards tonight, and he’d taken out a good number of them before reinforcements came.

He sees the shock on her face and doesn’t hesitate to grab her around the waist, before hoisting her up on his side. The princess let out a gasp but doesn’t struggle in his arms as he manages to knock two guards out of his way before turning a corner and running with her.

Hak only manages to make it about a couple of feet or so until he has to turn around and cut down three guards in their middle. It wasn’t a killing blow, but he would have to start inflicting more damage to prevent them from getting back up. With the princess dangling over on his side in one of his arms, and making himself a one man army, Hak was relying on sheer strength instead of strategy.

“General Hak?” he hears to his right. “Come, this way!”

He turns to see Min-soo standing in between two walls, breathing heavily as he beckons them over with his hand.

“Was that poor shot, you, Min-soo?” Hak asks quickly. Whatever it was, it had saved them. 

Hak notices the flash of something catching the moonlight behind Min-soo, and doesn’t hesitate to run forward, ignoring Min-soo’s panicked shout of _ Wait-wait-wait! _ before managing to stab his glaive straight through another Sky Tribe guard, this time trying to ignore the guard’s strangled gasp as blood poured out from the wound in his chest.

Min-soo looks shaken as he sees the guard fall back. But Hak doesn’t have time to check on whether or not he’d actually killed someone tonight. Either way, by attacking Soo-won, he’d already dug his own grave. “Follow me with the princess. Make sure to stay close.”

He hears an affirming sound come from Min-soo as he sets the princess down gently. No sound comes from her she practically falls before Min-soo’s lap. He hesitates before he continues ahead of them, scouting out for more guards.

As Hak leads the way, three more guards come for him. Now without anything holding him down, Hak is able to kick one back, causing the other two behind that guard to fall as well. This time, Hak doesn’t hesitate as takes advantage of their fallen state and slashes across their chests with his glaive. He ignores their sharp cries of pain and turns around to make sure Min-soo is behind him. As he turns forward, Hak tightens his hand on his glaive as he sees more guards coming. “Min-soo!” he calls out, “Go this way!” he points to what looks like another alley-like path in between castle buildings.

Min-soo, who has an arm wrapped around Yona, nods at Hak and holds her close as he continues forward.

“Son Hak!” Hak hears from his left. “You filthy traitor!” The guard coming to attack him this time raises his sword far too high above his head, giving Hak a clear opening to stab through his chest as well. As the guard fell, Hak turns to swipe his glaive violently against three guards attempting to attack from behind, ignoring the blood splattering on his robes and the sounds of cries as the guards fall.

Hak runs to where Min-soo and the princess are. “This isn’t going to work,” he says. “We’re going to need to hide.” 

Min-soo nods in response. “Follow me, I know a secluded place.”

Hak glances over at Princess Yona, who looks as if she’s not looking at anything at all. Her eyes look empty, similar to the night King Il died, and Hak ignores the clenching in his gut as he follows Min-soo. 

Min-soo leads them to an area with large trees. Out of habit, Hak is about to raise an objection as snakes tended to stay in that area, but closes his mouth. Nothing was the same anymore. Better snakes than the King of fucking Kouka coming after them.

Min-soo gives Hak a worrying look as he guides the princess to sit down and lean against a tree. It was easy to move her around in the condition she was in, Hak notes, like a doll. “Princess,” he hears Min-soo asking, “is it true that Kin—Lord Soo-won murdered King Il?”

Hak leans down on the other side of the princess, she doesn’t look at Min-soo’s face, her face looking almost empty as she nods. 

“O-Oh,” Min-soo continues, looking away from the princess’s face. “I see. I’m sorry, Princess, but even now I can’t believe—I mean during your birthday months ago he was laughing with Lord Soo-won.” The princess doesn’t react. It was as if she’d never heard.

Hak also has to look away. He can’t watch the look in Min-soo’s face break and watch him accept the fact that Soo-won had betrayed them all, and was likely going to let them take the fall for it as well.

The sound of guards walking frantically comes to their attention. Hak shakes his head. Would this nightmare ever end? “Min-soo,” he says softly, “it’s only a matter of time before they find us. We’ll be killed for sure if we’re caught.”

Hak tries to think of something, but his mind comes up blank. They were lucky that archers hadn’t been sent for them, otherwise Hak wouldn’t know how to protect both the princess and Min-soo, who couldn’t even hide and take on archers as well as soldiers using close combat weapons. How would they even get out of here?

“I’ll secure a way out.” Hak looks up to see Min-soo, who is now standing in front of him. “I’d heard the commotion near the princess’s chambers when I’d gone to deliver her some more tea. She attacked Advisor Kye-sook, and you attacked Lord Soo-won. Even if that didn’t happen, you two would still be murdered. You two escape from this castle.”

Hak panics. “What? But how will you—?”

Min-soo smiles. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to escape, and if I can’t then you’ve already injured all of the guards who’d seen me with you. I can come up with a good story to save myself.”

Hak looks back at the princess and back at Min-soo. How could he leave a defenceless friend to take on those Sky Tribe traitors?

“You know that my idea is the only good one as of right now. Unless you can come up with something better, we need to do this. Princess Yona is King Il’s only heir.”

Hak grits his teeth. “You better not die out there, Min-soo.”

As Min-soo turns around, he looks towards Princess Yona. The princess is wearing a light blue yukata. As Min-soo looks back at Hak, Hak removes his outer robe, blood splattered as it is, and hands it to Min-soo. “Even if it doesn’t fit you,” he manages to let out, “they’ll assume you’re the princess attempting to run away with my robe.”

It’s around the time Min-soo is putting the cloak on that Hak sees the princess react. Her eyes glaze over them before settling on Min-soo, and she rises quickly on unsteady feet. “M-Min-soo?” she asks. “W-What are you—?”

“Princess,” Min-soo says. He turns towards the princess with a bright smile on his face. “I will pray to the gods for your safety.”

Min-soo doesn’t hesitate and turns around to run towards the guards. 

“Min-soo!” Princess Yona yells out, “N—” Hak pulls her towards him and places his hand over her mouth. 

Princess Yona looks up at him, her amethyst eyes wide. She struggles against him but Hak pulls her in the direction to where the rear castle gates are. “Princess, we have to go.” The princess continues to struggle against him and Hak hates himself as he lifts her up with one arm again and begins running in the direction of the gates.

The princess doesn’t stop thrashing despite his firm hold. “Hak, Hak, _ please _ . Min-soo, they’ll _ kill _ him! Why don’t you understand?!”

The princess quiets in his arm as Hak manages to swipe through two guards. Hak can feel her freeze in his arms as they hit the ground, not even letting out a sound of pain. Hak sets her down and pushes open the small door made within the gate. He’s breathing heavily as he grabs her arm tightly, ignoring her sound of protest, as he practically pulls her behind him.

“Wait! We can still get him!” Princess Yona calls out.

Hak turns to where she’s looking. In the distance he can barely make out the shape of Min-soo’s body. But Min-soo is still running. Hak actually pauses as he considers the lack of guards on the ground. Maybe he could actually… no. If there were no guards on the ground, then—

The princess cries out as Min-soo is pierced by an arrow, right through his shoulder. Hak freezes. So they _ did _ have archers. But Min-soo gets right back up and continues running.

Hak doesn’t look back, as he grabs Princess Yona and this time, throws her over his shoulder. He proceeds to make his way down the long set of stairs that lead to a dense, unknown forest. He ignores the sob the princess makes as she finally falls limp into his hold, and ignores the shouts coming from the archers far behind him. Soo-won is out there somewhere, watching all of this chaos. Soo-won, who is also the one in control of the time that seems to be moving towards the inevitable death of them all.

* * *

Hak doesn’t know how much time has passed. But he’s sure it isn’t comfortable for the princess to be hanging over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. She isn’t moving, and he feels as if her breaths have become shorter as well.

Hak stops by a large, sturdy tree that looks as if it has enough ground to set up a fire, if need be. He leans down, and sets the princess down gently. Princess Yona stumbles back and falls to the ground. Hak is about to reach out to catch her, but she moves back away from him using her hands and legs. 

Her yukata has blood near her shoulder, probably from when she attacked Advisor Kye-sook, and in other places, likely coming from the blood he shed from when he was carrying her. Her hair, although pinned back by the hairpin, is a mess. Hak fixates the angry expression she wears. Had he ever seen her angry? Genuine anger that hadn’t come from her voices? He can’t remember.

“_ Why _ ,” she chokes out. Her voice sounds broken, with tears streaming down her face. “ _ Why _ would stay to save me? If you would’ve listened to me and left for the Wind Tribe, you wouldn’t have been branded as a traitor! Both you and Min-soo—I-I don’t understand. I am one person! _ One _ useless person!”

Hak takes a step towards her. “Princess—”

“_ No _!” Princess Yona curls up into a ball. Her hands shake as she manages to grip her hair tightly in her hands. Hak wonders if she’s going to attempt to pull her hair out again. “You don’t understand, you are just dragging out our deaths when it could’ve been just mine! But now Min-soo… and Saki! I left her in my chambers! W-What if Advisor Kye-sook—! A-And they were planning on executing you for treason before, you could’ve made a big show of leaving but now—a-and Father! Father is dead!” Princess Yona looks back up at him. “In all the months that Father has been dead, I’ve realized that not once have I ever thanked him. Not when he made my palace, not when he celebrated my birthday. I-I don’t even remember the last thing I said to him. So where can I go, leaving Father behind? Everything—”

Hak doesn’t hesitate as he walks to where the princess is kneeling and sets his glaive down. Ignoring her sobs, Hak sits down and pulls her into his arms, hugging her tightly, and letting her clench his robes in her arms. The princess stops sobbing, and freezes as he continues holding her against him, he’s hugging her so tightly he hopes he isn’t hurting her.

He’s breaching so many limits, but perhaps the princess will forgive this one misgiving. As Princess Yona rests her head against his chest, her sobs quieter, Hak tries to pull her even closer.

“We’ll go anywhere,” he says softly. “As long as it means that you’ll live. Princess,” he continues, “do you not believe that the ancestors keep their watch over us? Your father was a compassionate man, and now he rests above in the heavens with those ancestors. So stay _ alive _. That is how you can return the king’s love. You are the only person left who will remember him fondly, because compared to me and Min-soo, you knew him in more ways than one.”

“B-But Soo-won, he won’t rest until I’m dead,” she says. “Even if I make the decision to live… Soo-won… what if he kills you, too? He tried to back at the castle.”

Hak shakes his head and rubs her back. “I’m not going to give my life to that bastard.”

The princess stills in his arms. He’s usually careful about profanity while working, but calling the King of Kouka a bastard couldn’t be worse than holding the princess intimately against him as he is now.

“Good,” the princess says. “Don’t die, Hak. I’m sure Father didn’t give you permission to.”

For the first time in a while, Hak smiles. This princess, she was willing to play whatever cards she had to save someone like him. Lecturing him about going to the Wind Tribe and now bringing up King Il’s orders. He loosens his hold on her, and tenses a bit as she leans more into him. “Rest now, Princess,” he says softly. “I’ll wake you again in a bit.”

As her breathing becomes deeper in his arms, Hak tenses once again as a gust of wind blows through the trees. The princess was wearing a thin yukata, and Min-soo had his outer robe. Min-soo who was likely… Hak can’t force himself to finish the thought.

Instead, Hak’s thought goes to the memory of him and Soo-won as younger kids, learning to shoot arrows for the first time. King Il and Yona used to watch them from up above. Soo-won, who couldn’t even shoot an arrow dead-center, tonight, that same Soo-won had actually held off against him. _ Hak, the Soo-won you knew was just an illusion _. 

_ Even then? Even then, Soo-won? _ Hak looks up at the night sky, the stars bright. _ I still can’t believe that King Il was killed by Soo-won. Soo-won… what are thinking right now? What are you doing? _ Hak ignores the feeling in his stomach. _ All those times we spent together, did you never think we could reach one another? _

* * *

Hak doesn’t think that the princess will be able to continue on in the condition she’s in. But they’re almost there. She only eats when he forces her to, and other than his hand guiding her forward, she doesn’t move at all.

Even now as she silently sits and stares into the open, Hak has to focus on her chest to make sure that she’s breathing. When he’d asked her to take a bath today, she’d simply shook her head and continued looking forward. Well, yesterday she had taken a bath, but that had ended in disaster after leeches got on her. And, well, him being there to pull them off of her naked body had been so disturbing that Hak had faced away from her when sleeping that night.

That wasn’t the only reason, though. Hak had noticed something poking into his stomach when she’d slept against him on their first night away from the castle. His suspicions had been confirmed yesterday while Yona was taking a bath. Hak had been washing his and Yona’s clothes. He didn’t have to scrub too hard on his black pants, but his inner robes, which were blue in color had taken an intense scrubbing, along with Yona’s light blue yukata. If they would be caught by any wandering soul in the forest, they couldn’t as well approach them in bloodstained clothes. When he’d been rearranging her clothes before washing them, he’d found Soo-won’s hairpin wrapped in her yukata.

He was yet to ask her about it. But he couldn’t think of a single reason she’d still keep it with her.

Hak rises. “Princess, let’s get going.” He looks down to see her in the same position, barely moving. Hak bends down to gently shake her. “Princess… let’s get going.”

Princess Yona looks up to him, the look in her eyes dead. “Hak,” she says softly, “where are we headed?”

Hak pulls her up to her feet and takes her hand again. “Watch,” he says.

They walk for a bit in silence as the first rays of sunlight shine out on their path. Princess Yona grips his hand more tightly as they near the edge of the sunlight and Hak stops as they look down into a large, mountainous range.

“Once we cross here—which shouldn’t take too long ,” Hak continues. “We’ll reach the one place we can be safe in as of right now. The Capital of Fuuga. The place where I grew up.”

As Hak looks back at the princess, a small smile comes to his face as he sees her mouth opened in a small ‘o’. Maybe it’s the sunlight, or the fact that the princess has already shed all of her tears, but Yona looks wondrous in a way that he hasn’t seen in months. As Hak holds her hand tighter, he promises King Il that he’ll protect Princess Yona, even if he has to move the heavens and earth together.

* * *

The sun is high and bright today, and the wind has suddenly picked up, but Yoon simply clips on his shirts to make sure that the laundry can dry. Even though there is a cold breeze blowing.

“Yoon! Yoon!”

Yoon turns around and panics as he notices the dirty, thin, robe and _bare feet_ of Ik-soo running towards him.

“Yoon, guess what I—ah!”

Yoon doesn’t even have time to react before that idiot Ik-soo falls flat on his face.

“You idiot!” Yoon runs over to Ik-soo to make sure he didn’t do something stupid like get dust in his eyes or break his nose. As he helps him up, Ik-soo lets out a laugh. “And what are you so happy about?!”

“Yoon, do you know how it feels to have to suddenly carry the burden of every soul that hasn’t rested? Every dragon soul that hasn’t rested?”

Yoon looks at Ik-soo’s head to make sure that he doesn’t have a head injury.

“No, no, I’m serious! I saw this during my meditation today! The Crimson Dragon will be sad for now, as they have recently awakened and thus had to carry the burden of all the lost dragons, but it’s coming! It’s coming!”

Maybe Ik-soo had hit his head but not bad enough to bleed? Yoon wasn’t sure.

“Ik-soo, it’s talk like this that got you kicked out of the village before, remember? Try to ignore these delusions.”

Ik-soo frowns and stands up on shaky legs, allowing Yoon to support him. “But the Crimson Dragon is coming soon. We must clean the house! And tell the Crimson Dragon how to get rid of the emotional curse of the unrestful soul of the other dragons!”

Yoon frowns. “Yes, yes. I’ll clean the house, like I _always_ do. And you try to go find a good physician, Ik-soo.”

Ik-soo shakes his head frantically. “You’ll see, Yoon. The Crimson Dragon will come here in a week.”

“_What_? Is he going to fall from above and practically land here?!”

Ik-soo had been turning around to start walking back inside their house, but turns around to face him slowly.

“W-What?” Yoon asks. It could not have been insulting to just ask if the Crimson Dragon was going to fall from above. Was it?

“Yoon…” Ik-soo begins, “You didn’t tell me... how did you know… you can talk to the gods as well?”

Soon after, Ik-soo rushes into the house, ignoring a loud _You idiot!_ behind him.

* * *

Kye-sook notices the dark circles under His Majesty’s eyes. “Your Majesty,” he says, “would you like for me to call of the meeting?”

The king shakes his head as he looks out over the castle walls and into the depths of the forest. “Advisor Kye-sook, we’ve already cancelled the meeting before. It wouldn’t be well to do so again. And besides, the more prepared we are, the better it will be. Besides Generals Soo-jin and Joo-doh, we need to worry about a few.”

“But what about General Geun-tae?” Kye-sook asks. “How did your visit to the Earth Tribe go? You know he’s always been the most vocal about his lack of regard for the crown.”

The king smiles. “Actually, General Geun-tae shows an open lack of regard for the person on the throne. King Il was a kind king who meant no harm, but as you know, General Geun-tae, with all of his experience in warfare, was not fond of a pacifist king. I find myself agreeing with him. After all, it is because of this pacifism that the borders of Kouka have suffered greatly. So long as the protection of the Earth Tribe is secure, General Geun-tae will not interfere.”

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, what do you have planned for the Wind Tribe?” Kye-sook knows the Wind Tribe a little bit. Unfortunately, the most experienced in this meeting will be the previous general before Son Hak, Lord Mun-deok.

The king frowns. “Lord Mun-deok will be no easier to deal with than Hak. His leadership has made the Wind Tribe significantly stronger and unified their military. However, they still rely heavily on merchant trade in order to afford the living of the larger Wind Tribe cities. If that’s threatened, it’ll be enough to threaten the economic state of the capital. They’re not as stable as the Water Tribe in these matters. Hak told me so himself a while ago.”

“The Wind Tribe is in a mountainous area. Their defences will be good. So how can we afford to threaten them?” Kye-sook was afraid of having to clash with the Wind Tribe. They wouldn’t go down easy, and no doubt they would revolt if they learned of what happened to Son Hak. Lord Mun-deok was skilled enough to play his hand at attempting to use the princess as a reason to possibly get the Water Tribe on their side. The Fire Tribe was easily bought, as well. 

“We’ll have to use the Fire Tribe. They’re close enough to the Wind Tribe in order to attack what they need. Not all battles are fought out in a field. A man relies on his needs to survive, and once they’re weak, even if they tried to revolt, they wouldn’t last long through intense thirst and hunger.”

Kye-sook wanted to believe the king, he had faith in His Majesty. But he just couldn’t shake a feeling he had about Princess Yona. There was something about her that he couldn’t pin. Something hot and dangerous that tended to come from her eyes.

As King Soo-won turns to leave for the five generals meeting, Advisor Kye-sook is left gazing out into the woods, the very ones Son Hak and Princess Yona had gone through three nights ago. He tightens his hand into a tight fist.

“Where will you hide her, Son Hak?”

The wind suddenly picks up into a violent gust, and Kye-sook ignores the way his hair goes flying around him. He ignores the way the wind blows in his face, and instead looks down near the back gate, to where the bright red flag of Kouka flies high in face of the wind. He also ignores the way the bright red reminds him of Princess Yona, and how the very ends of her hair are able to look like fire when she’s enraged. “Let push come to shove, and then we’ll see what you can do, Princess Yona. How long will you last based on sheer luck?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I’ve mentioned, this work is likely the most useless thing you’ve read. But, I did need this to set some ground on how burdensome the cycle of dragon warriors continuously incarnating has been on all these poor dragons.
> 
> I am happy to start this second work, but that will be done when this one is finished editing and I have finished the plot for the second one. Also, this week is off for Thanksgiving, but I will be spending this entire week studying for finals which will be happening next week! The first chapter of the sequel should be up around the week of Christmas after everything is planned.
> 
> I’d like to thank everyone for showing their support for a prelude as silly as this one.


End file.
